Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in North Carolina

Not necessarily but your will, if properly drafted, will contain a simultaneous death clause. There should also be a contingent beneficiary named.

What would happen if you died in a common disaster or such that it would not be possible to determine who died first, you each would be presumed to outlive the other. Each of the person items would pass as per your respective wills. Anything left to the spouse (who is presumed to have died before you) then passes to the contingent beneficiary named or as per the residue clause in the will.

If there is no contingent beneficiary or a residue clause then an intestacy occurs if the spouse or named beneficiary is dead and there is no other provision. What happens then is your estate is liquidated and the money is divided, one half to your intestate heirs and one half to your spouse's intestate heirs.

In this case you mention you have children. Are they your children from this marriage or from a prior marriage or relationship? If the former, it does not matter since all your children would be intestate beneficiaries and would inherit the house, car, etc. equally. If the latter, then 1/2 of the assets would go to husband's children and 1/2 to wife's.

You and your husband need properly drafted wills, as well as other estate planning documents (financial and health care powers of attorney and a living will). Please contact me at rachelforjustice@hotmail,com if you are interested in re-doing your estate plan.